Afraid
by Jiaorui
Summary: After the war ends, Aang and the group realize the amount of pressure that comes with maintaining peace in a once chaotic nation. The teens face diplomatic and personal responsibilities, not realizing the importance of their choices. Kataang/Maiko/Sukka.
1. Chapter 1: The Palace

**Author's note:** So, the story basically begins immediately after the last episode. I'm just trying to set up the scene in the Fire Nation palace, I promise there will be more soon.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar:The Last Airbender. All of the characters belong to Mike and Bryan.**

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**Chapter 1: The Palace**

The setting sun shone through the wide windows of the Fire Nation palace, prolonging a beam of light that lingered through the corridors of the now free nation. The ceilings held high, emblazoned with bright and lavish banners that held true to the Fire Nation colors. The palace, for once, was peaceful. In a way, it felt like the entire nation was sighing; finally relieved from the previous oppression and tension that the supposed "Pheonix King" laid upon them.

Light footsteps seemed to reverberate through the long, empty hallways. The Avatar made his way down the right wing of the Fire Nation palace, his expression confused and tired. _'I can never seem to find my way around this place..' _he thought as he stopped to peer through a large, spacious window. He took another glance at the poorly made napkin-map that Sokka had drawn shortly after the group had finished dinner. _'This doesn't make sense!' _Aang thought, _'I didn't even see a statue of a platypus bear! Or.. what _is _that thing?'_ The drawing of the supposed statue seemed to resemble an animal, or a horrid, randomly placed scribble.

When sun had fully set, it became hard for the Avatar to make out the almost useless map. Suddenly, he noticed footsteps coming from the end of the right wing's hallway.

Glowing light appeared from a lamp that a young maid's woman was holding at the end of the hallway.

"Avatar Aang?" she called out.

Aang stared in the direction of the young woman, and immediately straightened up to smile at her.

"Oh uh, hello! I was just admiring your.. plants," he said nervously. "Actually, I—"

"Are you lost?" the woman asked as she giggled at Aang's immediate, embarrassed reaction. "I would be most honored to guide you to your room – it's not far, just across Lady Katara's suite."

Aang nodded towards the woman, and began to follow her through the maze-like hallways.

'_Suite?' _Aang thought to himself.

The two walked down a lavishly ornate hallway, finally stopping at a wide wooden door, engraved with intricate Fire Nation designs. "Do you have your key, Avatar Aang?" the woman asked.

Aang nodded, and thanked the young woman for her assistance. She walked down the hallway gracefully, humming a low tune. Aang took out the golden key he had acquired from the new Fire Nation king, longfully glancing at the door across the hallway, before entering his room.

"Whoa.." he said as he entered the large, bright room. Inside, was a large, circular bed that only seemed to take up a fraction of the suite. There was a large table, and full-wall windows with lavish curtains that hung, draped along the sides.

"I could probably fit a million Appa's in here!" his voice echoed through the room, as he began walking towards the large dinner-like table, noticing the scroll left on his desk. He unraveled the tie, opened the scroll, and read the beautifully written message.

_Aang,_

_Attached is a map of the palace that Zuko gave each of us after you left. It's a pretty big place, so just bring it with you if you ever get lost. We're having breakfast in the courtyard tomorrow, the one just outside of the left wing; you can find it on the map._

_I'm so proud of you, Aang. You really are a truly powerful bender. _

_I miss you,_

_Katara_

He hadn't forgotten what had happened that afternoon – Katara's seemingly sudden change of heart, and that unexpected kiss. He blushed at the thought of it, at the thought of her.

"She misses me.." he whispered to himself, smiling. Aang slowly turned towards the door of his room, contemplating whether or not he should knock on her door; she was just across the hallway.

The moon shone through the balcony window, and Aang yawned as his hand reached the door of his suite.

'_Tomorrow,' _he thought, _'I'll figure this out tomorrow.'_

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**It's so short! I promise there will be more than one character in the next chapter. I don't want to jump right into everything just yet. Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2: Breakfast

**Author's note:** So, here is the rather long chapter about breakfast. Weird, right? Get ready for semi-Kataangy fluff/conflicting feelings/hablahblahblahh!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. All of the amazing, charismatic characters belong to Mike and Bryan. Sniff sniff.**

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**Chapter 2: Breakfast**

Tiny scratches nipped on the door outside of Aang's suite. The scrapes became increasing loud, with soft purrs muffling from the other side.

"Mm, wha-?" said Aang sleepily as he poked his head out from under the covers.

The morning light beamed through the windows and shone upon the intricate carpeting. Comfortable in his warm, fluffy bed, Aang managed to pop one eye open. With a gasp, his eyes grew wide in shock, realizing what time it had been.

"The breakfast!" he half-whispered, half-scolded himself as he hopped out of bed to open the door. Momo sat eagerly at the entrance, his bright green eyes staring up at the suddenly alert Avatar. The lemur purred as Aang turned to walk towards the large table, hoping to review the map.

"Hmm, come in Momo.." the Avatar yawned as he stretched and walked towards the map of the palace.

With a sudden leap, Momo swooped in a circle around the Avatar's suite before quietly curling up in a warm spot on the bed. He purred with content as he snuggled beneath the warm layers of the mustard yellow comforters.

To Aang's surprise, the scroll had been moved from the table. Instead, an entire Air Nomad outfit had been spread across the table's surface, with a note attached.

_Avatar Aang,_

_I hope you have found your suite to be surprisingly comfortable. Fire Lord Zuko and Lady Katara have advised our seamstresses to design an entire stock of outfits for you and your friends. The Fire Lord asks that you wear this one, as you will be escorted to an important event later today._

Aang examined the back of the note, checking for any indication of who had entered his room while he was asleep. He felt uncomfortable – had he not locked his door when he entered the suite?

He examined the fine craftsmanship of the robe. The bright, delicate cloth held elaborate imprints of cultural and traditional Air Nomad designs sewn with golden thread. When he tried it on, it draped buoyantly across his chest. He stared at himself in a nearby mirror above the dresser and smiled.

The clothes felt light, and comfortable, very much personifying his inviting, cheerful, and now seemingly serious personality. He placed a trademark monk's necklace around his neck, and glanced at it with admiration, realizing how different the morning was from the others.

Aang took a glance outside of his balcony window, and his mouth dropped open at the sight of the location of the sun in the sky – it was almost afternoon. He quickly searched for the map in his room, conveniently finding it on his bedside table, and bolted out of the door; all while picking up Momo's sprawled out body from his bed, and frantically searching for the left wing courtyard.

He bolted out of the door and down the lengthy hallway, focused on the map. He made a sharp left, and immediately halted at a tall iron gate; he could see the gang sitting and laughing at an enormous table, a full view of a lush garden behind them.

Aang entered the gate quietly, blushing at the fact that everyone seemed to have finished their breakfast.

"Well _there_ he is! Come over here, Twinkletoes, so I can smack you awake." said Toph with an unappreciative smirk across her face and her fists clenched.

"YEAH, Aang!" Sokka yelled, "Do you HOW long we've been waiting for you to get down here? My stomach has been crying for the past 45 minutes!" Sokka rubbed his gurgling stomach as he stared longingly at his empty breakfast plate.

As Aang approached the last empty seat on the table, he was surprised to see that there was no food.

"You mean.. you guys haven't eaten, yet?" Aang asked in surprise.

"Of course not! We waited for you, Aang," Suki replied, "We asked the servers to hold back on the food – otherwise Sokka might have eaten it all by now." A loud, eager grumble from Sokka's stomach complimented his famished and hunger-stricken face, followed by a gentle pat on the back from Suki.

"Well, then," announced Zuko as Aang took his seat beside him, "Shall we eat?"  
And with that question, and endless amount of servers appeared with an array of culturally diverse breakfast dishes, and placed them across the long, sturdy table. Sokka's mouth watered at the sight of the selection of foods, and immediately took the pleasure in sampling every dish that was placed on the table. Katara and Suki rolled their eyes at Sokka's inevitable reaction.

Meanwhile, Aang sat quietly in his seat, taking note of the newly made attire everyone had put on. He looked across from the table, and his eyes set on Katara. She was wearing a water inspired dress; flowy and delicate like her hair, shining with a spectrum of flattering blue tones draped over each other. It was unusual for her to wear something so lavish for breakfast; however, everyone else seemed to look that way as well.

Aang sighed and blushed as Katara took a quick glimpse at him while she scooped vividly colored fruit onto her plate. A smile formed at the corner of her mouth as Aang sunk a little deeper into his seat.

"Aren't you going to eat somethi—" started Zuko. He quickly noticed Aang's caught-in-the-moment embarrassment as Katara took a glance at the Fire Lord's obvious question. "You know, you can just talk to her," Zuko mumbled towards Aang, "She's been talkative all morning until you came to sit with us."

The Avatar looked to stare at Zuko as he was offered a loaf of bread. He grabbed a couple, looking nervous, and opened his mouth to reply to Zuko.

"Thanks, that makes me a lot less.. nervous." Aang said sarcastically.

Who was he kidding? He _kissed _her the day before, and even though the initial shock had put them in an awkward position, at least he knew that she had some kind of interest in him.

The group quickly finished their breakfast, laughing at past memories and the ridiculous antics they got into.

Katara was the first to excuse herself from the table. She gave Aang a slight look as she got up and walked towards the garden. There were tall bushes, wild exotic flowers, and neatly kept vines that intertwined through a uniquely crafted wooden plant-support. Within seconds, Katara disappeared from the sight of the group, immersed in a jungle of plants.

Zuko gave Aang a slight nudge as he noticed the Avatar staring in the initial direction of Katara's departure. Sokka, however, provided a stern, warning glance at the two boys.

Aang hesitated. "You guys wouldn't mind if I excus—"

"Go." interrupted Suki with a smile of encouragement.

Aang slowly got up, and left the table while Suki and Toph smiled at the new level of awkward Aang had just reached. He entered the garden entrance, looking both ways before seeing Katara sitting carefully next to a small, manufactured pond, bending little waves for the fish to swim along.

Once Aang drew close to her, he began to doubt himself. _'What if she doesn't want to talk just yet? What will I say? Should I make a grand entrance? Say something witty? Pull a trick move? Should I—'_

All of the thoughts running through his head were immediately halted by a splash of water that hit him square in face. Katara laughed as Aang drowned in his surprise.

"You look nice today," said Katara, "The Fire Nation seamstresses were so creative and talented when Suki and I pitched them ideas."

Aand blushed at the compliment as he took a seat next to her at the pond.  
"You look…great today." he finally said. Katara looked away, blushing for a moment before focusing on the bright red koi swimming in the pond. Aang, of course, was still staring at her.

"Aang, I'm sorry," Katara finally said, "But I just have to ask you something."

She turned towards Aang, surprised to find him still looking at her.

"Yeah?" Aang replied; he began to slightly sweat at this point.

"What.. are we?" questioned Katara.

There was silence for a moment.

"Well, what do you mean?"

Katara sighed. "I know that…kiss yesterday meant something. I just want to know where we stand; I want to know what you think about…us."

Again, silence.

'_Oh goodness, what am I doing?' _thought Katara, _'What if this was too fast? He so quiet. Does he want us to be…together?'_

Aang sat quietly, thoughts and feelings bombarded his mind. He stared quiet into the pond, contemplating and thinking for the right answer.

'_I don't want to hurt her. I can't trust myself just yet. I can't—I don't even know what I'm doing. She deserves so much more than I can offer.'_

"I think you're wonderful, Katara." he finally said, fixated at the pond. She stared at him for a while, eagerly wondering what was going on through his mind. Immediately, she reached for his hand and he glanced at her, her face looked pleading and helpless, yet beautiful. Aang found himself staring at her, and for a moment, instinct drew them closer to each other.

"Avatar Aang." An unfamiliar voice came from the entrance of the garden. It was one of Zuko's Fire Nation escorts. "Fire Lord Zuko is requesting your immediate attendance at the territories conference between the four nations. We will be escorting you in 5 minutes to the Grand Hall."

And with a confused nod from Aang, the escort left the two benders to bid their goodbyes.

Aang stood up carefully, helping Katara up as well.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized, "I don't know what this is about."

"You're the Avatar, Aang," replied Katara with a sheepish smile, "You have duties to fulfill to the world."

Aang's face was stricken with disappointment; he wanted to stay with her longer, he wanted time to think about her question, and how he would answer it. And amongst all of his analytical thoughts, Katara bent forward to kiss his cheek softly.

He stared at her, and soon a smile invaded his surprised face. The two embraced each other in a rather long, much needed hug.

Eventually, the escort arrived again at the garden's entrance, guiding the Avatar towards a new path that entered the palace. Aang turned to catch a glimpse at the table; everyone had left, and the servers were bringing the leftover food to the kitchen.

Guards covered the Avatar as he walked down the narrow pathway, towards another door. Aang felt nervous, unsure of the importance of this meeting.

The escorts and Aang finally stopped at a large, maroon colored door which seemed to declare the importance of the occasion.

'_No one warned me about this?'_ Aang thought to himself as the doors began to open.

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**Soo, yeah! I'm so sorry if the story seemed to drag on in the beginning. But hey! You got a taste of a lit****tle Kataangy filler-fluff. And Aang **_**will**_** answer Katara's question; I'm not planning on disappointing you guys.**

**I promise that the next chapter won't have so much diplomatic, boring details. In fact, well, you'll just have to wait and see.**


	3. Chapter 3: Jitters

**Author's note:** So we last left off with Aang being escorted to the huge fire nation doors for the meeting!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. All of the amazing, charismatic characters belong to Mike and Bryan. Sniff sniff.**

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**Chapter 3: Jitters**

The large door creaked loudly as the escorts pushed them open. Aang waited patiently, yet his mind was running with many questions. _'What are we doing? Is Zuko here? Why didn't anyone tell me about this? Is it important? It must be important! There are huge doors!'_

Once the doors had opened, escorts shifted their bodies against the walls in order for Aang to pass into the large, ornate room. As he entered the room, he noticed the number of significant leaders that have all taken their seats in an orderly fashion around the room. Aang was the last one to arrive, unfortunately. He stood at the entrance of the meeting room, dumbfounded. And to his surprise, Zuko had uprooted himself from his seat, walked over to Aang, and half tugged, half clawed Aang's clothing and helped him to his seat.

The Firelord immediate stood up once Aang had taken his seat.

"Right. So uh, we're all here today to discuss the matters happening in each of the..Four Nations," said Zuko, unsure of himself.

"Excuse me," said an Earth Kingdom representative in the most respective tone, "I mean no disrespect, but.. _Four_ Nations? I know the Avatar is, in fact, an airbender, but one person can't simply count for an entire nation."

Zuko glanced at the representative, slightly angered by his comment. "That is something that our council was planning to address..." He gritted his teeth, frustrated at the fact that someone had caught his slip up.

Aang noticed the tension in Zuko's face, and whispered, "Are you okay?"

Zuko quickly softened his face as he heard Aang's comment. "Yeah, I'm fine," he whispered back, "I'm sorry to have sprung this meeting on you so informally and quickly. I just, needed you here."

Aang seemed confused. _'So I didn't even need to come? Katara..'_

But his thoughts were suddenly cut off by the voice of the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe, Chief Arnook. "Firelord, might we postpone this meeting until another day? All of us had just recently arrived this morning. If this meeting is imperative to the future of our nations, I suggest that, by all means, we should get started."

A drop of sweat trickled down Zuko's left temple – despite the fact that the room temperature was significantly below any temperature that was considered to be "hot". He looked around the room, noticing the leader's visibly tired faces.

The Firelord sighed in defeat. "Perhaps we should continue this when we've all had a few days rest. I propose the meeting to continue after three days, and three nights."

And with that statement, everyone nodded, and immediately began to stand from their seats, and make their way through the Fire Nation hallways. Aang, however, kept in his seat while Zuko stood, head cast down at the notes written on the table in front of him. He then shut his eyes, appearing to be deep in thought.

Once everyone had left, Aang looked up at Zuko's tired and strained expression. "Zuko?" he asked.

The Firelord brought up his gaze, peering at Aang, and tightly clenched his fists as his face distorted in defeat. He inhaled a quick breath, as to keep himself from exploding. "I don't know what to do."

Aang looked at Zuko, watching this unexplained reaction unfold before him. "What do you mean, Zuko? I don't understand. You got escorts to take me to this meeting, and everyone was here.. I jus—"

"I don't know what I'm doing! My uncle, and all of the international leaders suggested that it was important that we have this meeting. This.. meeting about the reunification of the four nations. But I can't – I don't know what to do. I'm afraid I won't be enough for the Fire Nation."

Aang immediately noticed the pain that Zuko's face held and how this fear of living up to the honor of the Fire Nation had affected him. Even after his life-changing choices to assist the Avatar in bringing peace to the world, Zuko still possessed a flicker of fear for appeasing the Fire Nation from its chaotic past. Viewing this confliction unknowingly placed pressure on Aang.

However, he reassured Zuko, "Zuko, you don't have to do this by yourself. Everyone in the meeting will provide their input, and we will all come to a conclusion. It's not all on your shoulders – people will help you."

Zuko chuckled at the irony; it was only a week ago that Aang had dealt with the same problem – how he felt pressured to bring peace to the world single handedly. Supposedly, it was Zuko's turn to feel the pressure. He glanced thankfully in Aang's direction.

After a long silence, Zuko finally said, "Maybe we all need a bit of rest. We're all so eager to fix all of the complications going on in the world right now." He wore a shy smile on his face, and got up to walk with Aang out into the courtyard.

"Wait," Aang said, "I need to ask you something."

Zuko was surprised at Aang's sudden change in tone. "Yeah? What is it?"

"Remember how you said that you were afraid that you weren't enough for the Fire Nation?"

"Yeah?"

"Well.. What if I'm afraid that I won't be enough for something as well?" Aang looked nervous. He peered at the ground and shifted his weight between his feet.

"Is this about..Katara? I saw you two disappear into the garden earlier today an—"

"We didn't do anything!"

Zuko held a slight grin with Aang's sudden defensive reply. However, Aang continued, "She asked me about our relationship."

"Oh, so you two are in a relationship now!" Zuko seemed overjoyed for a moment, before realizing Aang's facial expression held a sliver of worry and regret. "Wait - what's wrong?"

Aang sighed for a moment before saying, "I don't think I'm going to be enough for her."

Zuko let out a loud cough and placed his hand on Aang's shoulder before continuing with an obvious statement. "Aang, you're the Avatar."

"I wish people would stop using that as an excuse for me to be strong," Aang said, "I may be the Avatar, but I'm also a 13-year-old boy that doesn't think he's ready to handle being in a relationship."

Aang paused for a second. "I just think … I don't know what I think! I know that I like Katara – I may even love her! And that's the reason why I'm afraid of being in a relationship with her."

There was silence for a while. Zuko stood infront of Aang, peering at his conflicted expression. He stared at him for a while before saying, "What?"

Aang's face grew even more nervous, he looked around, as if trying to find the right words in the air around him. "Katara.. She deserves so much more than I—"

"You just need to talk with her."

And with that statement, Zuko pushed Aang towards the entrance of the meeting room, down the hallway, and towards the right wing's library.

"Wha—No, Zuko!"

They stopped right in front of the library entrance. There were windows that stretched along the tall, stone walls. Aang could see Katara studying a scroll on a desk in the library. He began to sweat with nervousness, while Zuko tugged at his newly fitted outfit.

"Look, you're going to stand here until you know what you're going to say to her. But make it quick, she looks like she's almost done."

Aang's expression was priceless; it was almost similar to the time that he had semi-wrestled with the Unagi in attempt to impress Katara. Everything went quiet, and Zuko patted Aang on the shoulders before turning around and walking away while shaking his head in confusion.

Aang stood at the entrance. His stance screamed 'help me!' as he cowered like a frightened kitten. Thoughts swam around in his head, as he prepared for what was about to happen next.

'_What do I say? What do I SAY? Okay.. Okay. She deserves so much more than what I can offer. And I think she likes me..Does she? Oh giant lion turtles, does she? What if she—No, she wouldn't kiss me and not—'_

"Aang?"

Aang stood up straight at the unexpected voice that echoed through the empty hallway. He turned his head to face Katara's sweet smile and immediately began sweating.

"K-K-Katara!" Aang finally managed to say after a long silence. He had been staring at her, wide-eyed, unsure of what to say.

"Aang, are you okay?"

"I.. I.. " Aang sighed, "I need to talk to you."

Aang suddenly relaxed, knowing that there would be no other way to escape this confrontation. They were alone, amongst a long, straight hallway with large stone walls. If he wanted to escape, it would have just looked silly. For some odd reason, things seemed a little clearer. Aang stood there, somewhat knowing what he wanted to say, and how he felt.

"Sure Aang, what is it?"

"About.. earlier today.." Those three words began to jog Katara's memory. To her, it had felt almost 3 days ago despite the fact that it happened that morning – the sun was almost about to set.

Aang face grew worried. "I..wanted to tell you that—"

Immediately, his sentence was cut off. Katara had instinctively forced her lips against his, snapping her eyes shut, and pulling away as quickly as she dived in.

However, when she opened her eyes she was shocked see Aang's confused face.

'_I knew I shouldn't have..' _Katara thought to herself.

"Katara," Aang began, "I like you. A lot."

With those words, Katara seemed overjoyed. She stepped forward to embrace Aang; however, he took a swift step back.

"But I feel like we shouldn't.. be in a relationship right now." Aang closed his eyes, and waited for a reaction. That instant, he felt heartbroken. His expression seemed to express that fact that he had just made an obvious mistake.

Katara's chest seemed to sink into her stomach. "W..Why would you say that?" she asked.

"I just feel like you deserve better than…anything I could offer right now," Aang's eyes shut tight as soon as he saw Katara's expression distort into a saddened expression.

'_I'm just hurting her.. And myself' _he thought, _'But I can't …I don't know what else to do. I can never trust..myself to always keep her happy. She is worthy of so much more than what I can offer. '_

"Don't be silly. I… I still like you, Aang."

'_But I can't deny my feelings; I can't hurt us both.. What.. What am I doing? I..I love her!'_ Aang finally realized the stupidity in his deicison. About two minutes had passed before either of them had said anything.

"Katara.."

And as soon as Aang opened his eyes, Katara was nowhere to be seen. He stood alone in front of the library entrance as the sun finally set.

"Katara?" Aang said loudly. He looked at his surroundings, looking for any trace of Katara's quick escape.

Suddenly, footsteps rang down the end of the right wing hallway. He ran towards the hallways opening, turning his head quickly to see who had made the noise.

"Katara!"

Aang sprinted down the hallway, following the shadow he claimed to be Katara. When he finally reached the beginning of the left wing, the figure was nowhere to be seen. A soft 'click' sounded down the hall, and Aang immediately noticed the door of Katara's suite. He ran up to it, eager, and knocked.

"Katara, please talk to me," Aang pleaded. After a few moments, there was no reply. "Katara.."

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**End Note:** Okay, I'll end it here. GOD, I KNOW THIS WAS A HORRID CHAPTER, I'M SORRY! I've been having a bit of writer's block – hence my late chapter posting. But the only reason why I had this situation between Aang and Katara happen was because I'm very familiar with a situation similar to this; I just altered it a bit. Oh goodness, it hurts to re-read this. I'm sorry if you guys are disappointed with the chapter.

Good things will happen though, I can promise that. I also had to illustrate the conflict (the story _is _called Afraid, after all).

And I know I left you guys with a lot of questions, but I promise it will all be explained in the coming chapters!

Please please PLEASE review! Seeing reviews just gives me a bit of a spark to keep writing.


	4. Chapter 4: What's Happening?

**Author's note:** So we left off with Aang outside of Katara's suite, begging her to let him in. Ahh, poor little puppy.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. All of the amazing, charismatic characters belong to Mike and Bryan. Cry.**

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**Chapter 4: What's Happening?**

Little taps echoed throughout the hallway with Aang's whimpering voice. "Katara, please.." he begged. He was shaking, his knees gave in. Eventually, Aang sank to the floor breathing softly as he leaned against Katara's door.

However, Katara was not in her suite. She stood quietly around the corner at the end of the left wing of the palace, her eyes cast down, and her face streaked with tears. Her mind ran, full of useless and untruthful thoughts. _'He doesn't love me and he doesn't want to be with me. There must be someone.. else.'_

Her thoughts were, obviously, a lie. But the recent – somewhat – rejection was having an effect on Katara. She started to doubt herself, her feelings, Aang. She soon began to think that love was something that wasn't meant for her. For years, she had felt that emotions always came in the way of duty. But now that her duty was done, why was it that emotions had no way in for her? That, even a boy who had spent an entire year travelling with her, couldn't bear to love her back with complete confidence.

She cared for him, she loved him. "I love him.." whispered Katara. But Katara slowly pushed those feelings behind her. She was so sure of Aang's feelings for her after the kiss. Now, however, she didn't know what to feel.

Katara was left in a state of confusion, drowning in all of this hurt that she thought could be healed by Aang's reassuring, mutual feelings. She heard Aang sigh as he got up from the foot of her door, and walk towards his own suite across the hall. A soft click sounded as he entered his room and closed the door.

Katara peered around the corner to see if it was safe. She waited a little longer, making sure her heart rate wasn't sky rocketing. And with a sigh, she tip toed down the hallway towards her suite, making sure that Aang wouldn't hear her enter her suite.

Once she reached the door, she was surprised to find her door unlocked. Katara slowly turned the knob, taking quick glances behind her to make sure that Aang had not heard. She slowly stepped inside, and found her room to be surprisingly dark; the curtains had been closed shut, and the moonlight could not find refuge in her room.

'_Hm, maybe one of the maid's had come in earlier to fix my room.' _She thought.

As soon as she took another step in the dark, Katara's senses heighted as she heard a rustling noise to her left. She prepared a stance, closely examining the space around her, unsure if she was alone or not.

"Who's there?" she asked defiantly. The room held and empty, yet questionable feeling and Katara sensed it. She walked to her right, remembering the pathway towards one of the grand windows. She held her arms in front of her, reaching for a curtain that trapped the light from the room.

After what seemed to be 20 steps, Katara finally felt the thick, satin cloth of the curtains. She immediately pulled back the cloth from the windows and examined at the brightly lit night sky.

'_I should open the other one..' _she thought. However, as soon as she turned her head, she jumped and gasped at the sight of a shadowed figure in front of her.

Katara was quick to act, but the figure was undoubtedly quicker. Katara attempted to deliver a swift jab to the figure's abdomen, but it somehow moved at an inhuman speed, sending the curtains on fire, and the soft, well made bed into flames. Katara soon found herself surrounded by flames; she screamed as the hooded figure ran out of her suite, light on its feet and impossibly swift.

In a matter of seconds, Katara's suite boomed into flames, as if the furniture in her suite had held some explosive and flammable material. Eventually, Katara spotted a water jug that sat idly on the dresser across the room and immediately bended the limited water as to create a path for her to escape the flaming suite. She, of course, had not had her pouch of water with her as she thought it wasn't needed.

The second she left her suite, Katara's eyes met Aang's frightened and worried face. He stood in front of the door of his suite, the expression on his face in shock. He had opened his door once he heard Katara's scream; but only too late to notice the hooded figure sprint into the darkness of the hallway.

"Where'd it go?" Katara asked in a panic.

Aang gave her a confused, shocked look. "Where'd what go?"

"The person! The one that did THIS," Katara pointed angrily behind her, "They ran this way—"

Katara took a swift step towards the direction that the figure had left. However, Aang was quick to grab Katara's arm before she completely left his presence. "Katara, are you okay? Please, just calm.."

"Aang, we have to catch that person!" Katara interrupted.

"But I didn't SEE anyone, Katara. Are you sure you didn't knock over a candle or…" Aang's voice trailed away; he looked worried. Eventually, Katara grew frustrated with the fact that Aang was, to some degree, not believing her claim.

"If you think that I'm lying—"

"No, no!" said Aang eagerly, "I just…I just wanted to talk.."

Suddenly, a group of Fire Nation servants turned the corner; their faces coated in shock as Aang and Katara stood mindlessly in front of Katara's burning suite. One Fire Nation woman flailed her arms as she saw the flames engulf the drapery through the open door. The couple looked towards the fear stricken servants, both afraid to say anything.

**-oooooooooooooooo-**

"Fire Lord Zuko!" a man said, eagerly knocking on Zuko's door. The Firelord had been sitting by his desk, carefully examining his notes, and going over possible political responses in his head. When he had heard the eager call from outside, he got up to open his door.

"Yes..?" Zuko said, not noticing the fear that covered the man's face.

The man raised a scroll placed in his shaking hand. "I had thought that you and the entire council would be at the meeting room. However when I arrived, no one seemed to be there. This scroll was supposed to get to you early this afternoon. It is imperative that you address this notice!"

Zuko slowly took in the man's urgent calls. He took the scroll from the man's trembling hands, picked off the red string, and unraveled the rolled paper:

'_Firelord Zuko,_

_It has come to our attention that Azula, former princess of the Fire Nation, has been sending secret messages from her quarters in the Nation's mental unit. We have recently intercepted what seem to be 2 haikus from Azula that were meant to be distributed to the following Fire Nation citizens: Dao Yen and Tsi Wu._

_The haikus intercepted were as followed:_

"_The blood brother reigns,  
We let him rule the nation,  
To see all destroyed._

_The place of refuge,  
You will establish our plan,  
In the name of fire."_

_We have also attached the original copies written by Azula._

_We have tracked the two citizens, Dao Yen and Tsi Wu, and have them in our custody. We do believe, however, that for the sake of you and the Avatar's safety, you two must remain alert. We have issued an extra fleet of guards to watch the outer corners of the palace. Former princess Azula may be playing tricks with our department again. However, we should not take any risks._

_-FN Department of Mental Health'_

The scroll was not signed by any specific person. However, Zuko knew that the Fire Nation Department of Mental Health would be contacting him frequently concerning the state of Azula's "permanent" stay. This message, however, seemed to catch Zuko's attention. He thanked the messenger before closing his door and examining the attached haikus.

The attached letters were beautifully written – however the paper was covered with dripped ink, probably a side effect of Azula's new mental jitters.

"You will establish our plan, in the name of fire…" Zuko whispered to himself has he read the haiku aloud.

And suddenly, something clicked. Zuko immediately dropped the scroll, and burst out of his room towards the kitchen. After what seemed to be only 5 minutes, Zuko half ran-half walked until he reached the kitchen, grabbing Sokka by the arm, and immediately walked out with him.

"Whaa—?" said Sokka in surprise, his mouth still full with rice.

"We need to see your sister." Zuko said, his face filled with determination and vigor.

* * *

**End Note: I feel like I rushed this a bit, so sorry! I have a little plan going on for the plot, and I'm pretty sure there will be a few plot twists. Aang and Katara ****will**** talk next chapter, promise! I didn't want to place it in this chapter because it would've been.. I don't know. Out of place.**

**Please review! I really appreciate all your guys's feedback – it's the only thing that motivates me to keep writing, hee.**


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